


November 14th

by StackerPentecost



Series: November Writing Prompts [14]
Category: Daredevil (TV), Marvel, The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Children, Christmas Fluff, Domestic Fluff, F/M, M/M, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-15
Updated: 2018-11-15
Packaged: 2019-08-24 05:27:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16633817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StackerPentecost/pseuds/StackerPentecost
Summary: Frank and Karen and Matt celebrate Christmas with their daughter but there's another surprise in store.This is for a November Prompt List. I'm trying to catch up.This prompt was: Harmony.





	November 14th

Frank quietly put on a pot of coffee, standing to watch the snow falling outside, his hands in the pouch of his hoodie. When the pot finished, he poured himself a mug and took a sip. He was always the early riser, having gotten used to it during his days in the service. 

He had just wandered back into the living room when he heard feet padding on the staircase. 

He came around the corner and looked up, chuckling as his eyes landed on his daughter, who was still bundled up in her feety pajamas, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, her favorite stuffed rabbit in her arms. Lily giggled upon seeing him. 

“And what are you doing up, little lady?” He asked putting a hand on his hip and trying to look unhappy with her. 

She peered around him, pointing at the Christmas tree that dominated the living room, along with the assortment of presents that sat underneath. “Santa!” She grinned at him.

“That’s right, Santa came. But you know the rules, no opening presents until everyone is awake. Did you wake up Mama and Daddy?”

Lily shook head, holding her rabbit close. 

“Well, let’s go see about waking them up, huh?”

She nodded eagerly. Frank climbed up the stairs, offering his hand for her to take as they went up together.

They peeked into the master bedroom, finding dozing bodies under the blankets. Frank nudged his daughter toward the bed. “Go on, wake them up.”

He tried to hide his amusement and Lily ran up to the bed, dropping both her rabbit and her blanket before scrambling onto the bed and beginning to jump up and down. “Wake up! Santa was here! Wake up! Wake up! WAKE UP!” 

Matt jerked upright first, his old instincts still heightened. He relaxed once he realized what was happening, small smile coming to his face. Karen rose a little slower, rubbing at her eyes. When she saw Lily though, her face lit up. 

“Hey there, sweetheart.” She opened her arms and Lily was quick to abandon her jumping and mayhem to crawl into her mother’s arms.

“Hi, Mama.” She chirped, running her fingers through Karen’s hair. 

Matt leaned over to smile at Lily. “How’s it going, Lily? I heard Santa came.”

“He did! He did! But Papa said everyone had to be awake before we can get presents.” 

Matt glanced in Frank’s direction. “So you’re the one behind this wake up call.”

Frank snickered softly to himself. “I didn’t do anything, she was sneaking downstairs while you two were asleep.”

Karen kissed Lily’s head. “She was just excited. I think we can forgive her.”

Lily looked like her parents, Karen’s bright blue eyes and fair skin and Frank’s dark hair and rather prominent nose. She wasn’t biologically Matt’s, but he loved her just the same. 

Frank had never pictured himself having another family after what had happened to Maria and his first children. But he also had never expected to ever be able to move past being the Punisher and everything that came with that. Karen and Matt had given him that. They were a team now, in every sense of the word and being together had given them each the things they’d been missing. They may not have the life they’d been used to, but the one they had now was just as good, if not better. 

Lily had been a surprise. They’d never talked about having kids after they’d settled. They’d been content to simply be and have each other. But then Karen had gotten pregnant and though Frank was more than a little terrified and Matt was inexperienced, they both knew they weren’t going anywhere and the baby wasn’t either.

Lily had all of them wrapped around her finger the moment she was born and it was still like that even now. 

“Can we open presents now? Please?” Lily asked, laying her head on Karen’s shoulder. 

“I think we can. How about you go down with Papa while Daddy and I get dressed?” 

“Okay!” Lily slid off the bed and bolted toward Frank. He stooped to pick her up with one arm before heading back downstairs.

Matt stretches his arms above his head before leaning to kiss Karen sweetly. “Good morning.”

Karen smiles softly, returning the gesture. “Good morning to you.”

Downstairs, Frank settled on the couch with Lily. She cuddled into his side and he slipped an arm around here. “What do you want for breakfast, squirt? Opening presents makes you very hungry.” 

“Waffles! With chocolate chips and strawberries and whipped cream!”

Frank chuckled, ruffling her hair. “Okay, I think we can do that.” 

Matt and Karen came down the stairs then and Lily vaulted from the couch toward the presents. Karen greeted Frank with a kiss and Frank grabbed Matt, tugging him close to do the same. Afterward they all settled on the couch to watch Lily tear through her gifts.

She squealed excitedly every time something new was revealed. Lily liked both traditional girls toys but also had a thing for dinosaurs, despite it being a toy everyone associated with boys. So she got the likes of a toy kitchen and an American Girl doll, along with a toy set from the most recent  _ Jurassic World _ movie. That wasn’t what mattered though. She was happy and that was the important thing. 

When all her presents had been opened and Lily was pleased as can be, surrounded by her gifts, Karen went to retrieve the one present left under the tree. 

“What’s that? I thought we made a plan.” Frank looked confused. They had decided that if they were going to exchange presents between the three of them, then it would be later that evening after Lily was in bed. 

“Well, we couldn’t really wait, so we decided to give you your present early.” Matt explained. 

The present wasn’t very big, just a small wrapped box with a bow on top. Frank raised an eyebrow before taking the box and slipping off the bow and lifting the lid. His heart sped up when he saw what was inside. He carefully picked up pregnancy test and examined the little window, noticing the plus sign. “You mean..?” He felt breathless. 

Karen smiled, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. Matt got up and came to sit on Frank’s other side, kissing his cheek. “We wanted to surprise you.” 

“Oh, this is definitely a surprise.” Frank agreed, almost at a loss for words. He looked between them, smiling gently. “How long?”

“I figured it out about a week ago and I figure we’re about a month along.” One of her hands fluttered to her belly, where Frank could detect a small bump if he looked close enough. 

Frank turned to look at Matt, who was smiling to himself. “It’s your turn now.” Frank commented, kissing the corner of his mouth. The other man chuckled, his smile growing wider. “I’m ready.” He assured, long since having gotten over his fear of taking care of children. 

“Ready for what?” Lily piped up, looking up at the three of them curiously. 

Frank reached to pick her up and set her in his lap. “Ready for your new sibling. Mama’s gonna have another baby.” 

Lily blinked a moment, “You mean I’m gonna be a big sister?”

Karen smiled and smoothed down her hair. “That’s right.”

Lily grinned, letting out a giggle. “I’ll be the best big sister ever!”

Frank soaked in the sound of everyone’s laughter, for once feeling at peace with his world. He was content for the first time in a very long time. He never imagined he’d feel like this again and he hoped like hell that he’d never have to let it go. 


End file.
